How It Works
We burn your everyday garbage and commercial waste at very high temperatures. This creates steam that powers generators to make electricity. Seminole Electric Cooperative buys this power, and the money helps pay for waste disposal costs.
What we process daily: Nearly 20,000 tons of waste across Florida's 11 facilities
Power generated: More than 500 megawatts of renewable energy statewide
Environmental Benefits
Waste-to-energy facilities like McKay Bay help protect our environment in several ways:
- Reduce landfill waste: We eliminate 90% of waste that would otherwise go to landfills
- Clean air standards: Our facility meets strict Clean Air Act requirements with advanced emission controls
- Metal recovery: We recover enough metal each year to build 4,000 cars
- Renewable energy: Florida law requires utilities to buy power from renewable sources like our facility
Recycling and Waste Reduction
Tampa combines waste-to-energy with strong recycling programs:
- Curbside recycling for glass, plastic, aluminum, and paper
- Yard waste collection and processing
- Metal recovery from facility ash
- Future ash recycling for road construction materials
Why This Matters for Tampa
Without waste-to-energy facilities, Tampa and surrounding areas would need large landfills near growing neighborhoods. Florida's population is expected to reach 23 million by 2020, making waste management even more challenging.
Our facility and three others in the Tampa Bay area (Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties) process waste that would fill a football stadium every day.
Facility Improvements
Tampa is investing $91.5 million to upgrade and maintain the McKay Bay facility. These improvements ensure reliable waste processing and clean energy production for years to come.
Capital Improvement Projects:
Major upgrade areas include:
- Building repairs and equipment updates
- Boiler system improvements (water walls, tubes, burners, and fans)
- Turbine generator
- Waste handling equipment (cranes and tipping floor)
- Cooling tower and water systems
- Air pollution control technology
- Electrical system components
- Ash handling and metal recovery systems
- Water treatment systems
Planning Documents
Review Tampa's long-term plans for the McKay Bay facility:
